[bwn]

Hello,  I am interested in homebrewing and am in the process purchasing the necessary equipment needed.  I have been doing research, watching videos, reading and browsing this forum for a month or so now.  I plan on fermenting in my basement but the temperature is 60 degrees F.  Will this be too low for proper fermentation?  I can't really increase the temperature of the basement without a substantial investment.  I could build an enclosure of some sort(I am pretty handy and have lots of scrap lumber and insulation laying around) my problem would be heating it.  Would the fermentation produce enough heat to keep the insulated area warm?  If not, what could I use to increase the temperature?  Or are there certain beers that could be fermented at a lower temperature?  I know I could buy something like an incubator/ refrigerator, but am just looking to get started and don't want to spend that kind of money yet.  Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[bluesman]

Actually that temperature is preferred for ales. I typically ferment my ales in the low 60's. It also depends on the style of beer and the particular yeast that you're using. Lagers are fermented near 50F which will require a fermentation chamber or swamp cooler. My basement is sitting around 62F right now which is perfect for most ales. I am planning to brew a barleywine in the next couple of weeks because the ambient temp in my basement is ideal for this beer.

Welcome to the AHA Forum.

[tumarkin]

Your basement temps are great for ales. Also, keep in mind that the temp of your fermenting beer will be higher than the ambient temp. Those yeasties generate some heat of their own when the fementation is rockin.

[skyler]

The minimum listed temperature for the various strains on the Wyeast and White Labs websites are generally about 5 degrees higher than what I have found to be the actual minimum. With most American and British-style ales there is little to no downside to fermenting cooler than the listed minumim (and frequently there is a major benefit to fermenting cool). I keep my fermentation chamber at 58 for most ales, so as to obtain a fermentation temperature of around 62-64F. If I am fermenting with WLP001/Wyeast 1056/US-05 (all essentially the same strain), or with certain other strains (Pacman and Wyeast 1007, in particular like it very cold), I will set my chamber to 54F, so as to obtain a fermentation temperature of 58-60F. The issue is when your ambient temperature is higher than 65F or so, then you are likely to be fermenting too warm for most styles, but Belgian ales are happily made with warmer fermentations. In particular, Wyeast 3864 Canadian/Belgian is EXCELLENT at producing tasty Belgian-style beers when ambient is very warm (70-75F), as are the various Saison strains.

[bwn]

Well that eases my mind a bit.  I want to thank everyone for there replies.  Now I just need to get my equipment in order and I'll be ready to go.